Blood in the Cesspool
by the Zoshi
Summary: Sequel to These Wings That Ache: New World, same old thing. [AU Story, contains OC] Rated M just in case...
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts, KH:COM, and whatever characters from it are copyright Square Enix. Not me. No matter how much I beg or plead.

A/N: Its me, Zoshi! I'm back with the next in my KH fanfic run. Yes, its the sequel to "These Wings That Ache" ! Aren't you excited? So, I'm not going to keep you, get on with the reading! And most important, enjoy!

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Title: Blood in the Cesspool

Rating: PG-13

Author: Zoshi the Confused

Genre: Kingdom Hearts

Sequel to These Wings That Ache

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Prologue

The streetlamps around the city square were lit, and connected by strings of small colored lights, glittering like stars along the black wire that held them. It wasn't anywhere near evening, and the sun was still a ways above the horizon, but the all the lights were lit. Bright lights attracted many people. And the more people there was, the more money waited to be made.

At the center of the square stood a platform. It was four feet high, roughly, made of wood that might have once been oak, or ash. It was weathered now, and some boards had been replaced by newer ones made of yew, brought from the foot of the nearby mountains. The front of the platform was full, and painted in stripes of blue and white. More of those stringed lights were hung on the front, spots of twinkling color. From the poles that stood at each corner of the platform, a canopy was strung, supported by another pole at the very center of the platform.

Around the platform a multitude of people had gathered, large and small, young and old, but all dark haired with skin the color of gray ash. A few among them wore blue or green robes, some with hoods and some without, but most wore wide farmers' straw hats and bonnets. Mother and fathers, clutching coin purses, stood holding their children by their hands. Others held toddlers up on their shoulders. All of their eyes were focused on the platform before them. Their voices, hushed, created an excited buzz that served to attract more people, more customers.

A man stood on the platform, grin wide and not at all faked, not with a crowd this large. He had dark blue satin pants, a white shirt with silver threads running through it, and pointed black boots that turned down at the knees. The sleeves of his shirt widened at the end, flowing and rippled, so each time he moved his hands they fluttered like tied doves. He liked the effect of those sleeves, his hands moved in time with his words in flourishes and large gestures. His hair was golden, shining in the sun and lamp light, long and curled and tied at the nape of his neck. His eyes were a curious shade of green, glistening, but still reminiscent of moss on boulders. He gestured largely once more towards the pair of people standing towards the front of the platform. One was a young man, hands cuffed together in iron clasps. The other was a woman, seemingly of the same age, also cuffed at the wrists. Both were naked to the waist, the shabby gray robes they were dressed in tied at the waist and only covering them below their hips.

"12,000 gold pieces for the pair, I hear?" The man said, turning round and round the platform to face all directions. "Anyone to bid higher?"

"12,500!" One man on the east side called out, raising his hand excitedly.

"I hear 12,500! 12,500… once… twice…" The well dressed trader turned around once more. "And sold for 12,500 gold pieces!"

Some in the crowd cheered as the winning bidder pushed his way forward. The pair on the platform was clothed by a cheery woman dressed in green satin, and led down stairs in the middle of the platform that led underneath. The winning bidder made it to the platform and was led to a door that opened into the area underneath it. The trader smiled widely and rubbed his hands joyfully. This was turning out better than he had expected; he had only been there for two hours, 6 sold in total, and he had already made over 100,000 gold pieces. And many more money makers waited below the platform. Murmurs began picking up, growing slightly louder as the crowd surged to and fro, impatient for the next person to be brought out. The trader's eyes gleamed; this was going to be a very good day indeed.

A hush descended over the crowd as the woman in green satin came back, leading a black robed figure beside her. Those closest to the platform tried to peer into the darkness of the hood to catch a glimpse of the person before the trader revealed him. The cheery woman smiled at the trader, her hands giving an almost unnoticeable signal to him. He smiled and nodded at her. Secret signals were essential to a trader who wished to keep his wares a secret until the very last moment, and this way he knew exactly who was brought out. Even if he arranged the lineup ahead of time, there was always the chance that someone might grow ill in the stuffiness under the platform, or hysterical, and mix ups occasionally happened. The flicker of fingers, fore and ring first, then middle and pinky, signified that everything was going according to schedule. The trader grinned as he turned to face the crowd directly in front of him.

"Now, before I reveal the next item, I'd like to set the bidding to start at 3,000 gold pieces," The trader said. The murmurs in the crowd grew louder in anger, as the traders bids had always started at 1,000, even for pairs. The trader, grinning softly, raised his hands to silence the crowd, and the murmurs softened. "Now, now, dear friends, once you have seen him, then I will let you decide if the price is too high."

The crowd, on hearing his words, hushed more, and almost without thinking pushed forward. Those closest to the platform had to hold steady to keep from being pushed up against the boards. The trader smiled again, his hands flourishing. He had the crowd now, and no one was hissing in anger. Everyone was intent on that black robed figure, anticipation in the eyes of even the youngest amongst the crowd. The trader motioned to the cheery woman in green, and with a mysterious smile, she pulled back the top of the robe. Quiet fell, deep and still, and a long moment passed before voices began to whisper again. Excitedly, the crowd surged forward, most raising hands holding coin bags, all focused on the figure now revealed from behind the robe.

The first thing the crowd, dark haired, dark eyed, dark skinned, noticed was the paleness of the boy. Skin as pale as milk cream contrasted richly with the dark black of the robe. His hair, fluttering softly in the rising wind, was grayish silver, glistening in the light, slightly covering his eyes. As their voices rose, the boy's head shifted, and the crowds' voices rose again at the sight of his eyes. Blue, crystal blue with green lines shifting and merging within them as the light flashed, mixing as the crowd watched, making the eyes look green suddenly, blue again. They couldn't understand it; they'd never seen eyes of a color like that. Some in the crowd began jumping, arms swinging coin laden purses high.

"Now, please, quiet now. As you can see, it is a rare treat I have for you here. I traveled across many lands, many seas, to find him." The trader motioned at the boy. "Wherever he had been, it seems that troubles befell him, and he is a little damaged…"

The trader spared a glance at the boy, looking again at the two scars that marked the boy's body. One was ragged, stretching horizontally across his side. The other was sharp and long, from his left shoulder to his left hip. Other than those two marks, the boy's body was immaculate, and well formed for his age. The trader smiled to himself, already hearing in his mind how high the bidding would get. He turned with a flourish to the crowd.

"The bidding starts at 3,000 gold pieces!" The trader announced, and was immediately bombarded by offers.

"3,500!"

"4,000!"

"5,000!"

"6,000!"

The trader smile grew wider and wider. There was no need to interject at this point, in their excitement the people would set their own limit, and from the looks of it, it would be a high one.

"7,000!"

"9,000!"

The trader turned to look at each bidder as soon as he could, nodding to acknowledge their bid. Suddenly, a voice rang out, loud not from excitement, but merely from the need to be louder than the rest of the people.

"15,000."

The trader whipped around, his smile shaking for a moment. His eyes caught a figure in the crowd, a figure given some space in the tussle. It was dressed in a dark green hunter's cloak, hood low over the face. Those around it were watching it warily.

"What…" The trader licked his lips, his throat suddenly dry. "What was the bid again?"

"15,000." The figure answered over the now hushed crowd. "Maybe that isn't enough? 20,000 then."

Gasps went up among the crowd, murmurs of surprise and wonder.

"20,000 is the standing bid." The trader's voice shook in surprise as he voiced the offer. He turned slowly to face all sides of the crowd. "Is there any bid left?"

No one made a sound, and the trader turned to look at the woman in the green satin before turning back to the crowd.

"Sold, for 20,000 gold pieces."

The cheery woman, her smile full of surprise, pulled the robe back onto the boy, hurrying him to the staircase at the center of the platform. The green-cloaked figure was already nearing the doorway in the side of the platform, the crowd having parted as it passed. The trader grinned at the crowd, almost apologetically, and made his way down the staircase. Mopping his suddenly sweaty face with his sleeve, he looked around for the woman in the green satin, and found her standing beside the sales table, the boy in his black robe next to her.

The door from the outside opened, and the green cloaked figure entered, walking up to the table in steady, sauntering strides. The narrow black hilt of a sword rose high above one shoulder, the trader noticed, and the tip of the scabbard visible well below her knee. A long sword, the trader thought, a kind that wasn't seen in these parts of the world. He started at the slam of a large coin purse on the table. A second quickly followed the first, and then a third. The trader looked at them for a moment, and then picked one up, weighing it in his hand. If it was all gold pieces, then there was at least 10,000 in one bag. Quickly, he undid the tie on the purse, revealing the beautiful gleam of gold coins. At the top of the bag, as if put there specially, was a long black feather. He pulled it out, twirling it thoughtfully, and looked at the green-cloaked figure.

"A souvenir," It replied, shrugging, and the trader's eyes widened, noticing now that the voice was feminine. Not much surprise there, he thought to himself.

"One of these purses contains 10,000 gold pieces," The trader said, setting the one he was holding down. "And the agreed price was 20,000, but you have put down three."  
"It was getting bulky, carrying them around," The girl said, putting her hands on her hips. Her head turned towards the direction of the boy. "So, does he come with a leash?"

"For this, my lady," The trader smiled widely, spreading his hands over the three purses, "He comes with anything you want."

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E/N: So, there it is dear friends, the prologue to the next installment. How'd you like it? And who is who!

This story is already promising to be darker and angstier than These Wings That Ache... I mean, I started with slave traders. SLAVE TRADERS... scandalous...

I'd just like to say a quick "Hi!" to returning reviewers, and Welcome to the new ones. I hope you all stick around for the rest of this. In my head its promising to be an interesting journey...

Laters, Zoshi


	2. Whats in a name

Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts, KH: Chain of Memories and any characters from Square Enix games are copyright Square Enix. My name IS NOT SquareEnix, therefore, I do not own them.

A/N: Ahahahaha! I'm NOT QUITE two weeks from the last Update. It would've have been sooner, and, er, better, but I was sick, and I gotta watch out cuz every four weeks my immune system drops, and I was freaked out I was really gonna be sick. But now I am over it! yay!  
I will do my best to have the next chap up by the end of this week/beginning of next week. I'll do my best…

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Title: Blood in the Cesspool

Rating: PG-13

Author: Zoshi the Confused

Genre: Kingdom Hearts

Sequel to These Wings That Ache

Chapter 1

"So, you really _can't_ talk, can you?" Sasha said, eyeing the boy critically. He was still dressed in the black robe, his hands lightly gripping the fabric at his thighs. He tilted his head for a moment, frowning, and then shook it. She sighed. "Ah, well, either way… I guess it was worth the gold."

She eyed him again, chewing on her lower lip thoughtfully. Sure, at first, the similarity to Riku was undeniable. His silver hair, turquoise eyes, really tripped her up. But now that she could see him eye to eye, really _look_ at him, she was finding more and more differences. For one, this boy had about as much effectual presence as a sock. There was always a moment when she found herself surprised that he was there, he was so inconspicuous. He had a strange way of looking at everything, she got the feeling he was trying to connect to something, anything, but it wasn't working out. Surprisingly, physical differences were apparent also. He was a few inches shorter than Riku, and his face was slightly narrower. Sasha leaned in a little more, looking at his eyes closely.

"Even your eyes are different…" Sasha said, looking at one of his eyes first, then the other. "See, your right eye is more blue-tinted, and your left one is green-tinted."

The boy blinked in surprise. He raised a hand hesitatingly to his right eye, brows furrowed thoughtfully.

"Well, either way, you should still know something. Or rather, feel something. We'll figure it out." Sasha shrugged, and motioned for him to follow her as she headed down the road they were on. "There has to be some sort of connection to could zero in on…"

The boy fell into step with her and they walked in silence for a little while. He looked around as they walked, taking in the sights of this world. The tree's leaves whispered in the wind, the grass at the edge of the road shifting in green waves. All this was new to him, the sight of flickering butterflies, the scent of daisies, the sound of birds chirping away in the trees. He looked over at Sasha, interested in the girl who had become his master. She had her brown hair tied back with a black piece of cloth. She still wore the deep green hunter's cloak, hung loosely on her shoulders, the hood down. Every now and then, especially when the girl sighed, the boy noticed that back of the cloak shifted slightly. He didn't understand what that meant, so he continued studying her. His former master had told him that a good servant got to know their master, a good servant knew what his master wanted before the master himself knew. He hadn't been a good servant before, but this girl was nice to him, and treated him gently, and something made him want to try his best to serve her. After all, the better a servant he was, the happier his master would be.

"Hmph." Sasha turned to look at him suddenly, and the boy looked at her questioningly. "Do you have a name? Well, I guess it doesn't really matter if you do, since you can't really tell me…"

The boy shook his head slowly. He'd never had a name; everyone had always called him boy, or servant.

"Then let's think of a name for you…" Sasha stretched her arms out as she thought, then folded them behind her head, looking up at the sky as she walked. "How about Isidor? It means "Gift of the gods' if I remember correctly…"

The boy's eyes narrowed uncertainly, his mouth turning in a slight frown.

"What?" Sasha dropped her arms and smiled. "You can't talk, so you should have a name that says a lot for you…"

The boy still looked uncertain, and Sasha shrugged, going back to thinking again. A moment passed, then suddenly the boy stopped. Sasha stopped, turned to him with a quizzical look. She was surprised to see a look of panic and distress on the boy's face. Suddenly scared, she stepped closer.

"What? What's wrong?" She said, worried.

The boy wrung his hands in distress. How could he have done that? His master had wanted to name him something, but he'd dismissed it without a thought! He struggled, trying to think of a way of telling her that he wanted the name she had picked. "Gift of the gods" seemed like a joke to him, but if that's what she liked, what she wanted, then who was he to tell her no?

"What? Is it about your name?" Sasha asked, and the boy nodded vigorously. "Hey, its all right if you don't like Isidor, we can…"

She got cut off by the boy, who nodded at the name. She eyed him skeptically, but he smiled, shyly, and she grinned.

"Well, I guess it won you over, huh?" Sasha said. "All right. Isidor. I like that."

Smiling, she started back down the road, and Isidor followed her happily. A sudden thought crossed her mind, and she turned to him, her face serious.

"You know, I know I bought you and all, but you don't have to act like I'm your master or something… I mean, I don't want you… you know, feeling all obligated and stuff." Sasha said, stopping.

Isidor frowned in confusion. Sasha sighed, reaching out to place a hand on his shoulder.

"Now look, I don't need a servant. What I do need, however, is someone to talk to and occasionally to help me fight some heartless. You think you can handle that?" She asked, looking him in the eyes.

Isidor thought for a moment, then smiled, nodding his head. She was so nice. She got him away from the man who kept him in cages and sheds, and made him wear dark robes. She'd given him a name, and was talking to him like she really cared about what he thought. He wanted to stay by her.

_"Over here, boy!"_

_He cringed, clinging to the wall he was pushed up against. Something flashed, metallic, in the dim light of the corridor. A figure was making its way down the corridor towards him, its black robe fading into the dimness of the shadows. _

_"Here, boy… Come when your master calls you!"_

_The boy whimpered, sliding along the wall to the ground. He cowered there, eyes closed, whimpering like a scared animal. Footsteps echoed ominously around him. He knew the figure was coming closer, he knew soon it would be upon him. Suddenly, he felt it, felt the figure standing over him. Opening his eyes a fraction, he saw the hem of the soft robe near his foot. He whimpered again, closing his eyes._

_"Stand up! And stop making that infernal noise…"_

_The boy yelped as strong hands lifted him by the shoulders. His back thudded against the wall, and he lifted his arms, his hands to cover his face._

_"We're still not done yet, boy. But for now I have to do something about your habit of sounding like an animal, at least until I'm certain you can form coherent words…"_

_The scene melted, the walls ran like candles left burning too long. Lights flashed around him, his arms and legs bound with invisible ropes. Something burned, something froze around him, he screamed into the rapidly shifting, colored darkness before him, screamed as something cut into his throat, screamed as he felt the warmth leaving him out his neck, warmth filling his mouth, screamed and screamed through froth of warming liquid that was rapidly leaving him freezing cold…_

Sasha woke with a start, her hand shifting subconsciously to the ground on her right, where the Masamune lay sheathed. Her bleariness passed, and she jerked her hand away, looking away as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. The fire they had made up was nothing more than softly glowing logs now, and didn't give much light. She turned to look at Isidor. The boy was curled up in a tight ball, facing away from her. Looking closer, she saw that his shoulders were shaking. Violently shaking, actually. Concerned, Sasha scooted over, placing a hand on his shoulder.

With a start, Isidor twisted around, pushing away from her. His eyes were wide with fear, terror painting them an eerie green, his face was even paler than usual, his breath came fast and ragged, as if he'd just sprinted a mile. Sasha found herself in dumb shock, unable to think of what could cause such drastic terror in the boy. She'd found him to be nice, stubborn at times, but extremely eager to please. Now, he looked at her as if she were a total stranger, a stranger that was threatening him with some sort of unimaginable horror.

"Isidor, it's all right. It's me, Sasha," She said in as soothing a voice she could manage. Even so, her voice trembled slightly, "Come on, you know me… Calm down, okay? Everything's all right…"

Slowly, recognition came into Isidor's eyes, and his breathing slowed. He blinked a few times, trying to collect himself. Sasha smiled gently, reaching out and brushing his hair back.

"It's all right, okay? It was just a bad dream… "Sasha said, "Don't worry, okay? You're safe…"

Isidor shook his head, trying to get the memories out of his mind. He looked uncertainly at Sasha, and she grinned at him. Slowly, slowly, he smiled slightly, the terror of his nightmare passing. In truth, he was very tired, but even though his nightmare was fading, something still kept him from relaxing entirely.

"Here, it's not much longer until daybreak, I'll stay up and keep watch, you get some more sleep, okay?" Sasha said, shifting to sit cross-legged, and smiled at him.

Isidor grinned back. He didn't think he should be making her stay up, but he was very tired, and sleep was pulling him back down to the ground. With a soft sigh, he lay back down, curling up, and drifting away.

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E/N: So, I hope that cleared some things up… Next chapter, they'll actually DO something. You know, the search really begins? Hee hee… Dammit… why do I suddenly miss Sora?

Laters

Zoshi


	3. Can you feel it

Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts II are copyright Square Enix. And, just so you know, no matter how much you beg, 50 cents will NOT make them yours. It will just make you look like a poor poor idiot.

A/N: 12/05/05 to 02/16/06. Yep. Feel free to stone me, all of you. Take the heaviest thing you own and whip it at me. I deserve it...Anyways, er, I had this all written out, but then accidentally 'x'd' out the window before I saved, so like an Idiot now I need to rewrite anything. And I can't spell because I just drank some coffee. Good News: this chapter is done. Better news: The next chapter is being begun today. Bad News: Coffee makes me uable to form coherent sentences. Dilemma: Should I write on a coffee high, or stay up late at night and write? Either way, I don't think I'd be able to form coherent and correctly spelled sentences.

Blah.

Enjoy!

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Title: Blood in the Cesspool 

Rating: PG-13

Author: Zoshi the Confused

Genre: Kingdom Hearts

Sequel to These Wings That Ache

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Chapter 2

Isidor grimaced, pulling at the sleeve of his new blue shirt. It wasn't exactly the kind of thing he liked to wear. The fabric of the shirt was slightly elastic, and on his torso it clung to his skin, making him feel like he was being wound up in rubber bandages. On his arms, however, the fabric was different. Minus the elasticity, it was flowing, and the sleeves were wide and billowy. He looked down at his pants woefully. They were a dark grey, made of a thick material, and not the most comfortable pants in the world. They hung in stiff ripples around his ankles, leaving only the very front of his boots uncovered. He sighed, looking around at the rest of the store he stood in.

Sasha had shifted them through worlds not long after that night, using a tri-colored amulet hung around her neck. The world they were in now, full of glowing neon signs and smoke-billowing mechanical contraptions that moved people from place to place, was a large change from the world they'd come from. Timid, Isidor could do no more than stare around him, wide eyed, when they'd first arrived. Even now, he found himself shying away from the voices and people that littered the store. He slid back, leaning against a wall between a rack of blue colored pants of the same kind of stiff material, and hangers with multicolored billowy sleeved shirts. People passed by, seeming oblivious to the boy, laughing and talking as they pushed forward metal carts on wheels, filled to the brim with all sorts of clothes and other items.

"Isidor? Where'd you go?"

The boy turned in the direction of the voice. Pushing off from the wall, he looked around for Sasha, and both the boy and girl nearly ended up running into each other.

"Hey, so, whaddya think?" Sasha asked, spreading her arms. She had on a dark green, ¾ sleeve shirt, tied with black strings like a corset in the front and back. Her pants were of the same stiff material as Isidors, only black. Isidor smiled, then noticed something. He tilted his head quizzically, his gaze going over her right shoulder.

"Hm?" She noticed his look, then realized what it was he was looking at. "Oh, yeah, I guess I totally forgot to tell you."

With a shrug, she unfolded her remaining wing, its black and silver feathers glittering softly in the halogen lights.

"I have a wing. Used to have two, but…" Sasha's face darkened suddenly, a strangely grim look. She looked at Isidor, and brightened. "But it happens, heh. Come on, lets get out of here. There's still lots for us to do."

Isidor smiled, and walked with her out of the store. The noisy machines that came careening down the street still made him flinch, but at least he was jumping at everything like he was before. He looked over at Sasha. She seemed relaxed, looking into the store windows as they walked by, glancing around at the signs and lights that were scattered across the lamp poles and building walls. Isidor grinned, a small grin, and relaxed himself. Everything was fine, it seemed. Everything was warm and bright and nothing was going wr----

He reeled, as though something had collided with his abdomen. Dropping to his knees, he wrapped his arms around himself, head ringing. He would have whimpered had he the voice. Had he the voice, he would have been screaming in pain. He felt Sasha's hand on his shoulder, but the stars blossoming in front of his eyes were stabbing with their points, ripping into his body and shredding everything they touched. He collapsed on the ground, the stars growing into giants of points and gnashing teeth, tearing into him, blinding and devouring him, and all was fading, and the silence of the stars drowned out the curses and screams and the chitters of coming dark…

Sasha barely dodged the attack, fire blossoming on the ground where she'd been a moment before. With a curse, she aimed a bolt of ice at the Red Nocturne dancing above their heads. It burst into a myriad of sparkles and faded away, only to be replaced by three Yellow Operas, bristling with unspent electricity. Sasha set her feet, facing the flying heartless with a growl. Around her, behind her, people were scattering, screaming as they ran from shadows that came out of the ground and walls, fleeing from apparitions that dove from the sky.

Subconsciously, her hand moved up to grab the hilt of the Masamune, the sword having appeared as soon as danger showed. She grimaced, pulling her hand away sharply and clenching her fists. No, she didn't trust it, no matter how much it begger her to. The Yellow Operas swung around each other, lightning arcing from one to another. A ball of lightning started gathering at the center of their circle, and Sasha's eyes widened. This was new. Pulling back, she focused on gathering energy, centering it on the Yellow Operas' position. Putting her arms in front of her, her hands open, palms towards the heartless.

"Gravira." She muttered. The Yellow Operas stopped their dance, jerking around frenzily as the air around them became denser, started to squeeze them, and finally imploded, the sparks pulling into each other. Sasha died, then ducked as a Wyvern dove at her from behind. A quick sidestep kept her from being crushed beneath a Large Body. The resounding crash it made caused the ground to shake violently, and although she struggled, flaring her wing, she was surprised to find herself crashing to the ground. The Wyvern, who'd missed its chance earlier, swung back, mouth opening to reveal sharp, needle like teeth. It screeched, a high pitched sound like metal on metal, and Sasha, who'd been readying another spell, lost her concentration.

As long as she'd remembered, the only sound heartless had made had been a chitter, a low clatter like the sound of rats in the walls. No heartless, no matter what kind, had ever made any other noise. Except, that one dog heartless in Traverse Town she'd met. Although she had reasons to believe that wasn't entirely a heartless, maybe something else. But this Wyvern was screeching, the sound grating through her ears and clutching her heart. The lightning she'd been gathering in her hands fizzled out of existence, her concentration going at the unexplainable phenomenon that had just occurred.

A second of missed concentration, and those needle-like teeth were clenched onto her arm, raised to keep the heartless from reaching her neck. She winced, the blood dripping down onto her face, trying to knee the writhing heartless off of her. The wyvern ground its teeth more, the claws of one foot digging into her hip. It whipped its wings, worrying her arm like a dog a bone, growling wetly around it. Sasha grimaced, bracing the arm that was in the heartless's mouth with her good arm. She wasn't scared, as she might once have been, just annoyed. Annoyed that she'd come all this way, and she was going to go like this, shredded by a wyvern heartless, a weapon on her back, and no way of reaching it without allowing the heartless unimpeded access to her neck.

The heartless was gone. Sasha blinked, trying to figure out why she was suddenly seeing bright sun instead of yellow, glistening eyes in a dark red face. She pushed herself up with her good arm. Looking up, she saw Isidor standing next to her, a group of heartless off with what seemed to be the exhaust pipe from one of the rolling machines. A heartless dodged forward, and he swung hard, the blow ripping the heartless apart and reducing it to a few, fading sparkles. The remaining heartless crouched, ready to spring, but Sasha pulled herself onto her feet, holding out her hand. A moment, and lightning arced towards them. A few good hits, and the heartless scattered away for the moment, eyeing them warily.

Isidor turned in surprise, relief flooding his face when he saw her. Sasha smiled, a bit painfully, wondering just how ghastly she must look with all that blood on her face.

"Let's go, that shop over there's as good a place as any to jump worlds." She said, motioning to a little café not far from them. Isidor nodded, and they took off towards it. The heartless leaped after them, Shadows and Soldiers, Blue Requiems dodging forward with their ice bolts blasting just inches behind the two. The door to the café was closed, and both Sasha and Isidor ended up slamming into it. Without wasting a second, Isidor swung the pipe, breaking the door lock and pulling Sasha in after him. The heartless attempted to follow, but Sasha shot out fire, lighting up the doorway and causing the heartless to chitter and growl unhappily.

Catching their breath, the pair looked around, surrounded by shocked and frightened faces of others who had hidden in the café. Sasha grinned at them weakly, then looked at Isidor.

"Hold on," She said, and Isidor grabbed her around the waist, more holding her up than holding on, as she was on the verge of falling over. Sasha reached up with her good hand, clasping the tri-colored amulet. The flash blotted out all the terrified faces, all the sounds of heartless growling behind the fire, faded it all into blinding light that was all colors and none, the light of all the worlds that existed, that ever had and ever would, stretching before, behind, and beyond them in all directions, pulling them across the strings of their hearts.

* * *

E/N: Sooo... yeah. Funky things are happening. I think we're learning something about our friends here. If only I knew what it was that we were learning...

Now I'm off to start on the next chapter. And this time, I will make it in a week. I WILL!

Laters, Zo


End file.
